US President Donald Trump returned with changes a proposed deal with Iran after a meeting with advisers on Friday (29), officials told CNNextending negotiations for another week.
The exact changes requested by Trump remain unclear, but officials said the president insisted on tougher language regarding Iran’s nuclear commitments and his pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also expressed concern about the type of financial relief that could be provided to Iran as part of the deal, wary of comparisons to the Obama-era nuclear deal, which he considers weak.
The latest wave of proposed changes comes a week after Trump declared that the and signaled that the end of the war was imminent.
Since then, American officials have signaled progress toward an agreement that would end hostilities, reopen Hormuz and begin more detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Even after Trump announced he would make a “final decision” during Friday’s meeting and detailed some of the conditions of the deal on social media, the two-hour meeting ended without a conclusive decision.
Although Trump stated in his message that the US would confiscate Iran’s nuclear stockpile and destroy it, Iran has repeatedly stated that it is not discussing details of its nuclear program in ongoing negotiations.
Trump also said there was no discussion of exchanging money as part of the deal, a condition Iran considers mandatory in any pact.
How these discrepancies would be resolved remains unclear as negotiations over the language of the agreement continue.
The website Axios and The New York Times previously reported.
